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River City Ransom EX (USA)

Game Boy Advance
🇬🇧
Reviewed in
2004
80
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✪ Reviewed on December 11, 2024
74

River City Ransom EX on GBA, enhanced version of the cult beat'em up RPG. Additional content, extra characters, fun intact. The best way to play the classic on handheld.

Your verdict
Category
Beat-'Em-Up 2 players 12+
Description
Enhanced version of River City Ransom developed by Million and published by Atlus in the USA in November 2004. Alex and Ryan travel River City to rescue the high school from Slick's gangs in this classic beat-em-up with RPG elements. Purchase skills and equipment in shops with collected money, statistics to improve, enemies to defeat and two-player link cable mode. New GBA version with exclusive content compared to the Famicom original.

River City Ransom EX review

4/5
Art direction
"Striking"
4/5
Music
"Excellent"
3/5
Story
"Solid"
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Engaging"
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Average"
Technical info
💾1,3 MB 📅16/11/2004
Published by Atlus

River City Ransom EX (GBA) price, value & rarity

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An underrated gem

A reinvention of a beat'em up classic with RPG progression, where Kunio roams the streets buying techniques and items between scraps. Released without fanfare, this expanded version suffered from a genre fallen out of fashion. Funny, deep, and packed with content, it'll thrill nostalgic brawler fans who love watching their character grow.

Is River City Ransom EX still worth playing in 2026?

A GBA remake of the Kunio classic, River City Ransom EX weds street brawling to RPG-style progression: you earn money beating up thugs, buy stats and techniques, and roam an open town. This clever hybrid, its humor and its co-op stay a joy and surprisingly deep. The pixel art presentation is charming and the content generous. A retro brawler at the top of its form, warmly worth recommending to fans of the genre and rewarding progression.

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